Constructing Physical Science

Adam Johnston

considering energy

Here's my rant about energy and how we'd typically treat it in an introductory physics class. We might say something about "energy" and say that it has something to do with "work," and then we'll turn around and define "work" as having to do something with "energy." This is circular and non-helpful.…

levitating bubbles

We had some extra dry ice here today that was being used for a lab where we needed something really really cold. But the other interesting thing about dry ice is that it turns into a gas. I let it sit at the bottom of this glass tank for a few minutes, and then I removed a lid and blew a few bubbles…

popping popcorn

In a typical class or Friday night, I'll pop popcorn and wonder: What happens to the stuff of the popcorn kernel as it is transformed into the morsel of popped corn that I can eat? Those two "states" of the corn are really different. One I can eat easily, the other seems impossible and would break m…

a walk

I spent part of the early evening with some science teaching students walking up through the trees to the former shoreline of Lake Bonneville. Their task was to make observations of phenomena they could use to center science learning around. I took photos of some of what caught my attention.…

motion analysis: freefall

Adam went to the trouble of throwing a ball up into the air in his office. The ball not only went up; it came back down. Here's video of the event: (It's also available on YouTube, here.) You can study this motion in a variety of ways. In another video example, I suggest that you analyze the frames …

noticings and wonderings of scientists blowing bubbles

I dropped by the offices of scientists around my building here at Weber State University and asked them to blow bubbles and tell me about the things they notice and wonder. At the same time, I recorded video of these episodes on my phone. Here’s a quick 10-minute compilation of the things they did, …

drum vibration in slow motion

Just because we can, I recorded this video of the outer membrane of a bass drum vibrating. (The mallet actually hits the opposite side of the bass drum, and this side vibrates on its own, sympathetically.) https://youtu.be/KFT6V52LnSM The first bit is in real time, followed by the slow motion portio…

where do trees come from?

This is one of my very most favorite photos in the world, taken by Karyn, of our kids in the Redwoods many years ago: I stare at this photo (it's on our wall in our living room) quite a bit and it gives me lots to wonder about. Right now I'm simply wondering: "Where do the trees come from?"…

hair’s width

The width of a human hair is pretty small, so you probably don’t have a good way of measuring it directly. However, you can use other methods, and these are the same as how you might study materials and the arrangement of molecules that you can’t see directly. We use the diffraction of light around …

turkey cooking times

Over the last few years, I’ve asked students and friends to send me their turkey cooking data. In particular, I ask for the time and temperature of the cooking, along with the weight of the turkey. I also add a place for extra notes, like how the turkey was prepared, if it was cooked in something be…

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